


Of Thieves and Hearts

by Psychadelico



Category: Sly Cooper (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Implied Romance, Mild cop drama, silly little thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 20:43:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11768007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psychadelico/pseuds/Psychadelico
Summary: Kaine Island, 2005:  Sly Cooper, master thief, and debonair raccoon of mystery, took a bullet for his part-time lover, full-time dogged pursuer, Carmelita Fox, and seems to have lost his memory in the blow.  Inspector Fox, for her part, has taken advantage of the situation to try and mold her one-time nemesis into an upstanding officer of the law. Whether truthfully or not, the former Interpol most-wanted is playing along, and it seems like his thieving days might truly be behind him.  But how is she going to explain to her boss that, after so many years spent chasing him, she doesn't want him locked behind bars?





	Of Thieves and Hearts

“Ah, back from Kaine Island already, I see.  I saw the reports.  Illegal gene splicing, over a dozen cases of actual or attempted murder, obstruction of justice, it was a real mess out there it seems. But you pulled through.” Inspector Barkley's tired eyes give the hint of a twinkle. “Another fine bust for my favorite cop.  However, I couldn’t help but notice you brought something else back as well.  Finally going to put a close to all the Cooper case files in one fell swoop?”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Brought him back in chains to face justice once and for all?”  Chief Barkley beams.

“Not exactly, Chief.”

The smile vanishes, replaced by a puzzled, scrutinizing look. Carmelita forces down the lump in her throat. “I want him inducted as a constable.”

“To Interpol?”

“Yes, Chief.”

The look was no less scrutinizing than before, but puzzlement had given way to annoyance.

“He’s trying to plea bargain, is that it? You should know perfectly well that’s not how we do things around here, Ms. Fox.”

“No Chief, it’s not like that! There was an… incident, on the island. He lost his memory. And I… already told him he was my partner.”

“You did WHAT?!” The old badger explodes. “Now why ever would you do a fool thing like that?!”

“Not so loud, Chief.” Carmelita hissed. “He’s out there right now.”

“In my waiting room?!! You brought him _into_ Interpol headquarters?! Unchained? Of _course_ , because he’s your ‘partner’. Ms. Fox, I’ve known from the start that you were something of a loose cannon, but this goes beyond the pale of irresponsibility into-”

Carmelita slams her hand onto the table.

“He could be a great asset to Interpol, Chief. You have the dossier. He’s agile, he’s smart. He’s tipped us off to more than enough busts to earn an illustrious career.”

“Yes, _if_ he were a cop. Which he’s not, Ms. Fox.  He’s a criminal.”

“One who only ever stole from other criminals, Chief.”

“I believe you’re forgetting about that case with the Fire Stone of Bombay? _And_ the Bavarian chocolate case. The theft of the string instrument exhibit from the Louvre? I probably don’t need to go through the rest.  I’m surprised you don’t remember. You were involved in most of them. Oh dear me that chocolate case…”

“Barkley, he’s lost his memory.  He’s a different person now. You can’t lock him up for something he didn’t really do.”

Barkley gives his protégé a long, hard stare.  “More than half a decade spent chasing him, and you really don’t want to lock him away…”  He shakes his head.  “You’re sure it’s not a trick?”

“Sir?”

“Carmelita, I don’t mean to besmirch your career, but this particular one has a long history of bamboozling you. You’re sure he’s not playing you the fool again?”

“I…”  Carmelita thinks back to the time in Paris, when an arrest had turned into an impromptu date, and then into an escape. She still had that bottle of wine.  And back again, to the time in India, when he had danced with her, _used_ her to distract from a job. And the Krakarov volcano, when he had given her the slip, and a very nice kiss.  She thinks back to the events of Kaine Island.

“Barkley, he took a shot for me.”

There’s a long pause. Eventually, the badger heaves a sigh. “I suppose I can understand it. He is a very cute boy.  And I daresay you’ve probably been thinking plenty of him these past few years.  And by all reports he’s a charmer.  I suppose if I were in your shoes, I might have fallen for him myself.

“Sir, I’d never-”

He waves away her objections, and stamps out his cigar. “I’ll see what strings I can pull.  Fifty-six years serving the law, the least they could do is bend it for me every once in a while…”  He absentmindedly shuffles a few papers.

“Chief, I… Barkley. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. But one thing…” He looks her in the eye. “Carmelita. You are a star, a shining example on the force.  The new recruits, they look up to you.  Did you know that? When I finally retire, actually retire, I expect you to be my replacement. I hope you knew that.  Just remember, Ms. Fox, when stars fall, they fall hard. So, be careful, ok?”

“If he’s playing me again, I’ll take him down so hard he’ll _wish_ it was a meteor.”

“That’s my cop.”  A smile, thin but genuine, returns to his face. “Let me know when the wedding is.”

“That’s not funny, Chief.”

But the chief has returned to looking at papers. “Time to go, I think, Carmelita. Maybe take a vacation. You’ve earned it.” He flips over a page.  “Hmm… Looks like, even if you’ve stolen the heart of its mastermind, the rest of the Cooper Gang is still at large. Looks like you and your new partner will have plenty of work to do, after all.”

Carmelita hesitates.  Did she hear a slight sound from the doorway?

“Time to go, Ms. Fox.”

Carmelita slowly exited the office. 

For a moment, she thought he wouldn’t be there. This had been the first time he had been left alone since his wounds from Kaine Island had healed, and she half-expected, opening that door, to find that he had taken the opportunity to escape once again, leaving nothing but taunts on the wind, and a little blue origami raccoon as a parting gift.

But Sly is still there, lounging on the couch, in exactly the same position as she had left him, tapping his foot.  The raccoon stretches, yawning lazily.

“Didn’t go well?”

“It went just fine, Ringtail.”

“Heard a lot of yelling in there.”

“That was just the chief. He does that. You’ll get used to it.”

The ex-thief smirked. 

“So, are you going to take me home?  Or am I going to be sleeping at headquarters tonight?”

“Oh!” Carmelita hadn’t thought about that at all. “I’m afraid I never did learn where you lived.”  It wasn’t technically a lie.  There was evidence indicating that the Cooper Gang operated out of somewhere in Paris when they weren’t on a job, but she never had found the hideout.  “I guess you could stay at my place.  Temporarily.  Until we sort things out.”

The thief kicked off the couch and swept Carmelita’s hands into his own.

“Wouldn’t mind if I did.”

Carmelita smiled. She wouldn’t either.

**Author's Note:**

> The opening seems a bit abrupt to me. I might go back and add or change a few things, eventually.
> 
> In the meantime, though, hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Questions, comments and critique welcomed.


End file.
